The overall goal of this study is to determine the rate of bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) before and after implementation of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) pre-arrival instructions program in Milwaukee County

The City of Milwaukee and surrounding communities combine to form Milwaukee County covering 241 square miles and serving approximately 959,521 people. Milwaukee County includes 19 separate municipalities. Community demographics and other characteristics have remained largely stable for the past decade.

The study will take place in Milwaukee County from 2009 - 2013 in the communities providing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) pre-arrival instructions: West Allis and Oak Creek.

In Milwaukee County Basic Live Support (BLS) shall be started on all patients in cardiac arrest with the exception of victims with: decapitation; rigor mortis; evidence of tissue decomposition; dependent lividity; presence of a valid Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) or Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST); fire victim with full thickness burns to 90% or greater body surface area; hypothermic patients with signs of frozen tissue, rigid airway, ice formation in mouth, or chest noncompliant for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The system standard is: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) will be provided whenever patient is pulseless; compressions at least 100/minute; hands on chest more than 75% of time; minimum compression depth of 2 inches in adults 75% of the time.

Therefore, the investigators will analyze data to assess how Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) pre-arrival instructions may have affected the probability of receiving bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

Eligibility

Ages Eligible for Study:

21 Years and older

Genders Eligible for Study:

Both

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

No

Sampling Method:

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The population of this study will be all patients with OHCA (absence of a detectable pulse, unresponsiveness, and apnea) occurring in the select communities, from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2013 (five years).

Patients determined to be a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) upon arrival of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by someone other than Emergency Medical Services (EMS) who is a trained first responder or health care provider with a predetermined duty to provide care.

Contacts and Locations

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the Contacts provided below.
For general information, see Learn About Clinical Studies.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02007499